Whitehouse Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle well in this caring, homely nursery. Children have warm, close relationships with staff, who value each child highly. Staff ensure that children feel confident and secure by taking time to get to know them. For instance, staff cater for their likes and dislikes in activities and routines. They have high expectations of children and manage their behaviour well. For example, staff talk to children to help them to resolve any disagreements fairly. Children behave well.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Children gain good physical skills. They practise their climbing skills up ladders and across frames and balance skilfully on wooden planks. Staff organise group games, where children learn to throw and catch balls.
• Staff teach children good communication, language and literacy skills. For example, staff introduce children to new words during activities and when they read stories to them. Staff sing nursery rhymes and action songs, which support children's language skills well.
• Children gain good independence skills. Staff teach them to peel their own fruit at snack times and children pour their own drinks. They learn to put on their outdoor boots and coats when they go out into the garden. All children help to tidy up when they have finished playing.
• Staff support children's creative development well. Younger children enjoy exploring the texture of different materials, such as mesh, ribbon and tissue paper, to make a collage. Children create models from play dough and paint and draw pictures.
• Children learn to share and take turns. For instance, they take turns during organised outdoor group games and when serving themselves at mealtimes. During group discussions, children learn to take turns to speak and listen.
• Staff work in good partnership with parents and give parents regular updates on children's progress. They suggest activities for parents to do with their children to support their learning. Some comments from parents include, 'the food is good' and 'staff are very caring'.
• The manager supports staff effectively. She meets with each member of staff regularly to review work and provide support. The manager monitors the quality of teaching well, for example, by spending time in the group rooms to observe and feedback to staff. The manager ensures that staff have good opportunities to update their skills and knowledge by going on training courses. For instance, staff attended a course on developing children's mathematical skills, which led to better outcomes for children.
• Children have good awareness of different emotions. For instance, staff show pictures of different feelings and talk to children about how they are feeling each day. This helps children to gain understanding about a variety of emotions.
• The manager reflects on all aspects of the nursery and has clear thoughts about where improvements can be made. For example, she plans to develop the outdoor area further to provide more exploratory opportunities for children to enhance their learning.
• Children play regularly outdoors as part of the daily routine. However, a review of the use of the pre-school environment should be undertaken in order to further enhance the provision for those that learn best outdoors, especially the older children.
• The manager provides daily healthy routines for children, including daily physical exercise and nutritional meals and snacks. However, although staff have begun to teach children about oral hygiene, this has not been fully developed to embed their learning further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the use of the pre-school environment to further enhance the provision for those children that learn best outdoors
• strengthen children's awareness of oral hygiene further.